


Five Times Dojima Needed a Babysitter and Five Times Nanako Took Souji’s Place

by cureelliott



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Gen, Post Finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2013-07-31
Packaged: 2017-12-21 23:34:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/906271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cureelliott/pseuds/cureelliott
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Souji might be gone, but that doesn't mean the investigation team isn't as delicate as always.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Dojima Needed a Babysitter and Five Times Nanako Took Souji’s Place

**Author's Note:**

  * For [townshend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/townshend/gifts).



> Hi there! I hope you like my story! I didn't get a letter from you and I couldn't find you anywhere else online so it was hard to stalk your likes/dislikes but I thought some Persona 4 fluffy genfic would be safe! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Five Times Dojima Needed a Babysitter and Five Times Nanako Took Souji’s Place

“I’ll pick her up before closing time,” Dojima-san called over his shoulder, leaving Yosuke gawking after him. 

“Hey, wait a--” Yosuke started to call after him, when he felt a little tug on his apron. He looked down at Nanako who looked up at him with large, concerned eyes. 

“I won’t be a bother, will I? Yosuke-nii?” She asked “Dad doesn’t like leaving me at home alone anymore, since the accident, and now Onii-chan isn’t around to keep an eye on me...” At the mention of Souji, Nanako’s eyes started to glisten and Yosuke felt his heart shudder painfully in his chest. 

“No, no, of course not, Nanako-chan! It’s never a bother to hang out with you!” She smiled and some of the tension started to leave her face. “I’m just worried you’ll get bored...” What kind of entertainment could an elementary school student get out of watching him stock shelves? 

“Oi, Hanamura! Produce needs restocking! Get the lead out, will you?” Yosuke turned towards the sound of his supervisor’s voice and shouted a ‘Yes, sir!’ in reply, without thinking. 

He looked down at Nanako again, “I’m sorry Nanako-chan, Yosuke-nii needs to get some work done... I’m sorry if you get bored.” 

Nanako beamed up at him “Don’t worry, Yosuke-nii! Nanako loves Junes the most! And Nanako loves spending time with Yosuke-nii! What could be more fun than that?” Her round little face was so sincere and innocent, Yosuke’s heart did a different kind of shudder and his eyes started to well up with tears of joy. 

“Nanako-chan...!” 

That afternoon, Nanako taught Yosuke important lessons about determining the quality of food produce. 

“Even if a watermelon doesn’t look pretty on the outside, you have to listen carefully to the sounds inside! That’s how you know it’s good, it’s full and juicy on the inside!”

\--- 

Naoto disliked the casualness and abruptness in Dojima’s tone when he dropped Nanako off at the Shirogane home. He continued to talk to Naoto like a child, rather than taking Naoto’s abilities as a detective seriously. But, in exchange for enduring Dojima’s attitude, Naoto was rewarded with an afternoon with Nanako. 

“Naoto-kun’s house is so big!” Nanako excitedly called out as she wandered the front foyer, admiring the high ceilings and the intricate chandelier that hung above them. Naoto nodded and smiled politely, though the reminder that while the house may be vast it was also empty which was frequently a point of great sadness for Naoto. 

Grandfather was rarely home and when he was, he spoke to Naoto very little. He only ever wanted to know if Naoto was succeeding in maintaining the Shirogane line and honing Naoto’s skills as a detective. He never asked about school, or Naoto’s friends or even praised Naoto for the hard work Naoto put into detective work. 

Most evenings were spent alone, poring over cases and watching old detective dramas while eating bland food prepared by the waiting staff of the house. And such would be Naoto’s life, now that Souji was gone... 

“Naoto-kun!” Nanako called from further away than Naoto remembered her being. Nanako waved from her place at the top of the high staircase, smiling broadly. 

“Let’s play hide and seek! In a big house like this, you just have to!” 

Naoto’s instincts warned not to engage in such childish play, but Nanako’s eyes twinkled with excitement and Naoto’s pride was pushed aside. 

That afternoon, Nanako taught Naoto important lessons about perspective and negative space. 

“Big places like this are just asking to be filled! You should invite everyone over and play giant games! That would fill this room all up in a snap.” 

\--- 

Hanging out with Nanako in a group was always fun. Nanako brought a special kind of lightness to the investigation teams’ hearts and everyone always had a good time. Chie loved feel like an older sister and every time Nanako called her Chie-neechan, her heart melted. But when Dojima dumped Nanako on her doorstep on his way to a crime scene, Chie’s stomach fell. 

Standing in the middle of Chie’s bedroom, Nanako looked so out of place in her pretty pink summer dress. The glaring, neon-colored action film movie posters that lined the walls of her room clashed horribly with the soft pastels of Nanako’s floral print dress. Even Nanako’s soft brown hair and eyes seemed glaringly out of place amongst the bulk of Chie’s room -- model weapons, karate trophies, and her worn out old punching bag hardly fit in with Nanako’s delicate feminine demeanor. 

What was Chie supposed to do? What was Chie supposed to say? 

“Say, um... Nanako-chan... Do you want to... color? Or maybe we could bake something?” Little girls liked baking things, right? 

“Mmm,” Nanako looked thoughtful, pursing her lips and pressing a finger to her cheek. “I do enough cooking at home... and Chie-oneechan doesn’t really like to cook, does she?” 

Chie laughed embarrassedly, “Well, what do you want to do Nanako-chan?” 

Nanako looked thoughtfully around the room before her eyes lit up like they had little shooting stars in them “Let’s watch this!” Nanako excitedly ran across Chie’s room and picked up one of her newest DVDs: Throne of Blood: Legend of the 13 Samurai in the Hidden Fortress. 

“Oh I don’t know if you would like that, Nanako-chan...” Chie said hesitantly 

“Oh? Why not?” Nanako looked at her curiously. 

The words ‘because you’re a girl’ were on Chie’s lips but she caught herself. Huh... 

“Nevermind... let’s give it a try!” 

By the end of the film, Nanako and Chie were shouting and flinging their arms around as the samurai defeated the last of the rouge bandits. 

“Chie-oneechan! That movie was so cool!” Nanako shouted gleefully as the credits rolled “Will you teach me to flip people over my back and do cool ninja chops like that?!” Nanako swung her arm in a chopping motion, knocking imaginary bad-guys out cold. 

“Of course I will, Nanako-chan!”

Later, when Nanako had worked up enough sweat to stain her pretty floral dress and they were both so tired that they’d collapsed on the floor in a panting heap. 

“I can’t wait to grow up to be a cool, strong woman like you, Chie-oneechan!” 

\--- 

Dojima was out of town at some kind of policemens’ conference and Yukiko had jumped at the chance to help him out by letting Nanako spend the night. The inn was relatively quiet so Yukiko’s presence wasn’t necessarily needed so she and Nanako spent the evening in Yukiko’s bedroom, watching silly cartoons and doing their homework. After watching Nanako struggle with a math problem for a good fifteen minutes, Yukiko stood. 

“Why don’t we take a break? A nice bath might clear our heads.” 

Nanako looked up at Yukiko and nodded vigorously. 

They changed into robs and Yukiko led them into the abandoned outdoor onsen. They set about washing themselves before getting into the hot spring water. After helping Nanako wash her hair and back, Nanako insisted she let Yukiko wash hers for her.

“It’s alright Nanako-chan, you don’t need to inconvenience yourself for me,” Yukiko said, waving her hand and reaching for the shampoo. Nanako frowned and touched her own hair. 

“Was I an inconvenience?” 

“No, no, of course not Nanako-chan, I just meant that...” Nanako looked at Yukiko with a puzzled look on her face, tilting her head to one side. 

I just meant that I’m not deserving of your kindness, however small. I don’t want to be a burden. 

Yukiko smiled and shook her head a little, clearing away the little voice in the back of her mind. She was deserving. 

“Actually, go ahead Nanako-chan!” 

Nanako had to stand on a wash bucket to reach the top of Yukiko’s head and they got soap and water everywhere when Nanako found a ticklish spot behind Yukiko’s ear. 

“Washing your hair is so fun, Yukiko-oneechan! Doing something nice for others makes you feel good about yourself, doesn’t it?” 

\--- 

Kanji loved kids. He loved making toys for them. He loved talking to them or watching them play. He loved their simplicity -- things that made them happy made them smile, things that made them sad made them cry. He never really imagined having kids himself, but his mother had always suggested if he didn’t want to carry on the family business that maybe he should look into childcare -- he’d make an excellent kindergarten teacher, she said. 

That’s why spending time with Nanako was so easy. They were comfortable together and Kanji enjoyed spending time with her. Nanako was an exceptionally mature kid, but she still loved doing cute little crafts with him. The only other person who had done crafts with Kanji, aside from his mother of course, was Senpai. 

Dojima had dropped Nanako off earlier that day on his way to work and Kanji’s mother had insisted that he leave her to mind the store while he made knitted animals with Nanako. 

“Her fingers are strong and fast, she’d be a much better knitting companion than me,” His mother had said, waving him out of the storefront attached to their house, “Go, have a good time.” 

Nanako and Kanji worked together in relative silence, only breaking their concentration to ask for more yarn or to pass a piece of ribbon. It was pleasant and as they worked away Kanji felt a great swell of inner peace. He hadn’t felt this relaxed since... since Senpai left. 

He paused his knitting to stop and look at Nanako, trying to find the right words to say. 

‘I’m glad you’re here with me’, no that was much too intimate a phrasing just to say to a little girl over a knitting project. 

‘I’m having a lot of fun’, no that sounded too forced, she might think he was bored. 

‘We should do this more often’, no that sounded-- 

“Kanji-oniichan,” Nanako’s voice brought him out of his thoughts and he looked at her, stupefied “I’m so glad we get to do things like this together, my knitting has improved so much with you around!” 

Kanji gaped at her a little before breaking out in a blush. He glanced away from her cheery face and stuttered, “Y-yeah... me too, kiddo. This is... really fun.” 

Nanako’s smile was so bright, Kanji wondered if she could blind someone with it. 

“Knowing the time you treasure is important to someone else too makes you feel special all over, doesn’t it?” 

\--- 

Looking in the mirror, Nanako smoothed out the wrinkles for her dress and tighten in elastic around her twin tail. 

“Oi! Nanako! Let’s get a move on, yeah?!” Dojima hollered from the first floor 

“Just a moment!” Nanako hollered back. 

She fluffed her twin tails and smiled at herself in the mirror before turning to the picture frame she kept next to her bed. 

“I’ll be going, onii-chan,” She said to the picture, kissing the end of her own finger and pressing it to Souji’s photographed cheek “I’ll be thinking of you. Hope you’re thinking of me too.” 

Somewhere in Tokoyo, Souji’s heart felt lighter and his cheek felt warm.


End file.
